Even the Report of a Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Settlement Is Plagued by Rival Accusations

One day before Johnny Depp’s and Amber Heard’s representatives were set to meet in court over a restraining order, the hearing is said to have been postponed amid reports that the actors are trying to amiably reach a settlement. This being one of the most publicly messy celebrity splits in recent memory, things aren’t turning out to be so simple.

On Thursday morning, TMZ broke the so-called settlement news, after weeks of nasty accusations involving abuse, substance dependency, and blackmail that have played out across international headlines. TMZ claimed that both Depp and Heard “want to end their war and settle everything connected with their relationship, so Johnny’s lawyers are requesting the courtroom battle set for Friday be postponed.”

Less than three hours later, after apparently speaking with insiders in Heard’s circle, TMZ offered a different spin on the initial report. “Amber Heard is calling out Johnny Depp and his people, saying it’s absolute horse manure she wants to settle her domestic violence case,” TMZ reported in its update. “She says Johnny’s putting [the settlement rumor] out there because he’s terrified about what she’ll say on the stand.”

Court documents show that Heard said she “could and would competently testify,” after filing for divorce from Depp in May, only 15 months into their marriage. The actress has already been vocal about her accusations. After appearing publicly with a bruise she said she incurred from a physical altercation with Depp, Heard described the alleged argument in court documents, saying that the actor “pulled her hair, screamed at her and repeatedly hit her and violently grabbed her face.”

“During the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me,” Heard said in her sworn declaration. “I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him.”

In the weeks since that declaration, Heard’s friend iO Tillett Wright wrote an essay about the abuse he says he witnessed over the course of the actors’ relationship.

“The reports of violence started with a kick on a private plane, then it was shoves and the occasional punch, until finally, in December, she described an all-out assault and she woke up with her pillow covered in blood,” Wright wrote, apparently referencing Depp and Heard in an essay published by Refinery29. “I know this because I went to their house. I saw the pillow with my own eyes. I saw the busted lip and the clumps of hair on the floor.”

An hour after TMZ’s update, alleging that Heard did not want to settle, the site updated again, showing, if nothing else, that parties behind the scenes of both sides were working feverishly to protect their clients’ public images. This time around, TMZ alleged that Heard lied about being in London for a costume fitting when Depp’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, wanted to take her deposition. The update makes it sound as though both sides were contacted for comment. Heard’s explanation for why she was not in London being that, in TMZ’s words, “the production crew felt she was too skinny, having lost 20 pounds because of what she says is overwhelming stress.” Meanwhile, the outlet adds, “Johnny’s team has maintained Amber is afraid to make her claims under oath and get cross-examined.”

So if you saw the word “settlement” swirling through Depp and Heard headlines, and were hoping for some clarity on the split, that remains the one element missing from the myriad accusations and calculated spins around this divorce.